Impurity band states in SI(P)

A comparison is made between calculated impurity band densities of state in Si(P) for donor concentrations below that of the semiconductor-to-metal transition and experimental results obtained from photoluminescence spectra after subtracting an electron-hole droplet line. The theoretical results were obtained within the large interaction limit of the Hubbard model, assuming the impurities to be randomly distributed. The density of states was computed from cumulants appropriate to the low and high impurity density limit.     

Photoluminescent detection of the impurity band in Si(P)

A new photoluminescent band in the spectra of phosphorus-doped silicon at concentrations near the Mott transition is reported. It is attributed to the recombination of an electron in the impurity band with a free hole.     

NMR study of acceptor doped fullerenes (MF6)2C60 (M=As,Sb)

We report on ¹³C and ¹⁹F nuclear magnetic resonance study of acceptor doped fullerenes showing p-type semiconductor behavior. Room temperature ¹⁹F spectra are characteristic for rotating (MF₆⁻) complexes, while the ¹³C spectra show that fullerene molecules are not mobile at temperatures up to 365 K. Reduction of the ¹³C chemical shielding anisotropy of (MF₆)₂C₆₀ in comparison to solid C₆₀ is assigned to the charge transfer between C₆₀ and intercalated species.     

Calculation of band structure in (101)-biaxially strained Si

The structure model used for calculation was defined according to Vegard’s rule and Hooke’s law. Calculations were performed on the electronic structures of (101)-biaxially strained Si on relaxed Si_1−X Ge _X alloy with Ge fraction ranging from X = 0 to 0.4 in steps of 0.1 by CASTEP approach. It was found that [±100] and [00±1] valleys (δ₄) splitting from the [0±10] valley (Δ₂) constitute the conduction band (CB) edge, that valence band (VB) edge degeneracy is partially lifted and that the electron mass is unaltered under strain while the hole mass decreases in the [100] and [010] directions. In addition, the fitted dependences of CB splitting energy, VB splitting energy and indirect bandgap on X are all linear. Supported by the National Pre-research Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51308040203 and 51408061105DZ0171)     

Impurity band conduction in CdHgTe crystals

Electrical conduction at 77 K in Cd_xHg_1−xTe, with the composition x ⩽ 0.2, is by electrons in the conduction band, by holes in the valence band and by holes in the impurity band. In samples with zero energy gap, x < 0.14, electrical conduction by holes in the valence band is comparable to electrical conduction by holes in the impurity band. In the open energy gap CdHgTe, electrical conduction by holes in the valence band is negligible in comparison to electrical conduction by holes in the impurity band. In CdHgTe samples, electrical conduction in the impurity band is described by the “Fermi Glass” model.     

Impurity Effects on Nucleation and Growth of SiC Clusters and Layers on Si(100) and Si(111)

Physics of the Solid State - A kinetic Monte Carlo model of silicon carbide growth on silicon surface is proposed. Based on this model, the growth of silicon carbide clusters on silicon in the...     

Impurity band for screened impurities in many-valley semiconductors

For a random distribution of screened donor impurities in many-valley semiconductors we study the impurity band as a function of carrier concentration. The results show that the often used assumption of an isolated screened impurity is unjustified, particularly for the critical concentration for which the binding energy becomes zero.     

Valence band variation in Si (110) nanowire induced by a covered insulator

In this work, we investigate strain effects induced by the deposition of gate dielectrics on the valence band structures in Si (110) nanowire via the simulation of strain distribution and the calculation of a generalized 6 × 6k$\cdot$p strained valence band. The nanowire is surrounded by the gate dielectric. Our simulation indicates that the strain of the amorphous SiO₂ insulator is negligible without considering temperature factors. On the other hand, the thermal residual strain in a nanowire with amorphous SiO₂ insulator which has negligible lattice misfit strain pushes the valence subbands upwards by chemical vapour deposition and downwards by thermal oxidation treatment. In contrast with the strain of the amorphous SiO₂ insulator, the strain of the HfO₂ gate insulator in Si (110) nanowire pushes the valence subbands upwards remarkably. The thermal residual strain by HfO₂ insulator contributes to the up-shifting tendency. Our simulation results for valence band shifting and warping in Si nanowires can provide useful guidance for further nanowire device design.     

Impurity band conduction in a high temperature ferromagnetic semiconductor

The band structure of a prototypical dilute magnetic semiconductor (DMS), Ga1-xMnxAs, is studied across the phase diagram via infrared and optical spectroscopy. We prove that the Fermi energy (EF) resides in a Mn-induced impurity band (IB). Specifically the changes in the frequency dependent optical conductivity [sigma1(omega)] with carrier density are only consistent with EF lying in an IB. Furthermore, the large effective mass (m*) of the carriers inferred from our analysis of sigma1(omega) supports this conclusion. Our findings demonstrate that the metal to insulator transition in this DMS is qualitatively different from other III-V semiconductors doped with nonmagnetic impurities. We also provide insights into the anomalous transport properties of Ga1-xMnxAs.     

Valence band structure of strained Si/(111)Si_(1-x)Ge_x

The strained Si techique has been widely adopted in the high-speed and high-performance devices and circuits. Based on the valence band E-k relations of strained Si/(111)Si1-xGex, the valence band and hole effective mass along the [111] and [-110] directions were obtained in this work. In comparison with the relaxed Si, the valence band edge degeneracy was partially lifted, and the significant change was observed band structures along the [111] and [-110] directions, as well as in its corresponding hole eff...     

Two-dimensional high-resolution NMR spectra in matched B(0) and B(1) field gradients

In a recent publication we presented a method to obtain highly resolved NMR spectra in the presence of an inhomogeneous B(0) field with the help of a matched RF gradient. If RF gradient pulses are combined with "ideal" 90 degrees pulses to form inhomogeneous z rotation pulses, the line broadening caused by the B(0) gradient can be refocused, while the full chemical shift information is maintained. This approach is of potential use for NMR spectroscopy in an inhomogeneous magnetic field produced by an "ex-situ" surface spectrometer. In this contribution, we extend this method toward two-dimensional spectroscopy with high resolution in one or both dimensions. Line narrowing in the indirect dimension can be achieved by two types of nutation echoes, thus leading to depth-sensitive NMR spectra with full chemical shift information. If the nutation echo in the indirect dimension is combined with a stroboscopic acquisition using inhomogeneous z-rotation pulses, highly resolved two-dimensional correlation spectra can be obtained in matched field gradients. Finally, we demonstrate that an INEPT coherence transfer from proton to carbon spins is possible in inhomogeneous B(0) fields. Thus, it is possible to obtain one-dimensional (13)C NMR spectra with increased sensitivity and two-dimensional HETCOR spectra in the presence of B(0) gradients of 0.4 mT/cm. These schemes may be of some value for ex-situ NMR analysis of materials and biological systems.     

Vibrational study of the initial stages of the oxidation of Si(111) and Si(100) surfaces

Using high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) the vibrations of Si(111) and Si(100) surfaces in the early stages of oxidation have been investigated. Three different stages of oxidation, the last being the formation of a thin layer of vitreous SiO₂ are identified when the surfaces are held at a temperature of 700K during the exposure with molecular oxygen. We show that also the first two stages involve atomic oxygen in bridging positions between silicon atoms. Small exposures at low temperatures (100 K) produce vibrational features of a different, possibly molecular, species. For higher exposures at the same temperature the spectrum again develops the characteristics of atomic oxygen and the molecular species eventually disappears. Exposure at room temperature leads to a mixture of atomic and molecular oxygen for smaller exposures and to purely atomic oxygen for exposures greater than 10² L. At room temperature even exposures as high as 10¹¹ L do not produce the spectrum of vitreous SiO₂. The same is found for the natural, room temperature grown, oxide layer on silicon wafers which we have studied by introducing the sample into the spectrometer through an air-lock. Annealing of the wafer to 700 K produced the characteristic spectrum of vitreous SiO₂. The results are discussed in comparison with previous work.     

Extreme reduction of the spin-orbit splitting of the deep acceptor ground state of Zn(-)(S) in Si

Electric-dipole spin resonance of the deep acceptor Zn(-)(S) in Si reveals close gamma(8) and gamma(7) ground states with zero-field separation of only 0.31 meV as compared to the 43 meV of the two valence bands. With Lande's formula for the g factors of a 2T2 state split by spin-orbit interaction into gamma(8) and gamma(7) this nearness can be interpreted as strong quenching of the orbital moment. The observed dependence on the Zn isotopic mass indicates a dynamic contribution of the acceptor atom to the electronic state as is expected for a Jahn-Teller effect.